Transit Routing, Street Design, and Transit Scheduling Software Request for Proposals
Responses due: 7/13/2023
PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is to solicit software companies who can provide Metro COG with transit routing, street design, and transit scheduling software as a cohesive software package to assist the agency in its multimodal transportation planning efforts.
Metro COG currently utilizes transit routing software to plan future fixed-route transit services, to plan for route deviations, to plan for and organize transit stops, and to measure both the financial and rider impact of all the aforementioned planning efforts. In recent years, roadway construction has impacted many transit routes often times leading to degrading on-time performance. This creates problems for a system that is designed to pulse out of a single downtown hub which connects to routes that run between the entire FM Metro Area.
Metro COG and MATBUS are seeking a software package that can aid in the planning and implementation of route changes by providing information on how route changes will affect route timing, route length, ridership, and environmental justice statistics. In addition, the successful vendor should supply a product that can be used to estimate operating costs and the number of buses necessary to maintain frequency.
Metro COG also currently utilizes street design conceptualization software to roughly sketch-out cross section alternatives for various planning efforts it undertakes. This is a very useful tool for staff in preparing visualizations of complex roadway alternatives and treatments. This reduces the time and effort in Metro COG’s various projects conceptualizing design alternatives and relaying them to the other technical professionals and the public.
Metro COG is working with MATBUS to acquire transit scheduling software as part of the licensing of transit routing and street design software. MATBUS currently does route scheduling manually, which is time intensive. The addition of scheduling software would make it easier and more efficient to institute different scheduling schemes. It would also give Metro COG staff the ability to assist in this effort, especially when analyzing transit services during the update to the Transit Development Plan (TDP).
